Omaha daily bee., 1887-04-17
QUEER PEOPLE AND THINGS.
What an 4xttio Mirror Decoration is
Really for
TALENTED PAINTERS FALL.
Denny Hannifln's Walk to Yankton-
How "spookendyke" Edited a Bis
marck Paper-DaVe Mullcn's
Mourner White Cats.

grapevine ana palm tree on the mirror
behind the bar at the Paxton are there
forg" gentleman asked of me yester-
day.
"Why, 20 ornament it," 1 replied, in
my innocence.
Then he looked at me and smiled, as
he said: mot a bit of it. That is, that
isn't the rtason they were painted there.
The TRUTHS, they hide big cracks in the
glass. The building settled after the
mirror vas in and caused the
fractures. Mr.. Kitchen didn't know
just whit to do and had about
concluded that he would order another
glass, whtn an Americanized Frenchman
who had keen staying at the hotel four or
five days snd had spent his money on at
fractions n the city, saw an opportunity
to liqudate his board bill and get some
thing besides. He told the geptlemanly
glass iugger how they did it in Paris
when the heavy artillery during the siege
cracked so many costly mirrors, and the
low was given q chance to exhibit his M
genuity and artistic skill. He did nice
job too, didn't hc?"
suggested that we should go in and
see the mirror AS we stood there and
my friend toyed with his glass, he became
colloquial. Poor DeCourcy-FrancoisD De
Courcy was his name-what strange
combination he is, or rather, has been"
he sad. He had all the luxurious tastes
of the son of millionaire when ne was
sober; and all the depravity of Il tramp
when he was drunk. He liked to put on
style, and occasionally his abilities as u
glass painter would yield him in a week
as much money as many men earn in six
months. Then he would fly high. He
would 90 to some city where he was not
known, stop at a top-nOtch hotel, and IN.
dulge in dissipation of very genteel
character if any dissipation can be
called genteel. Pomery Sec wasn't good
enough for him. But just as soon as his
money was gone he would become one
of the worst blackguards l ever knew.
He'd usually wind up in the police sta
ton. He didn't happen to here, because
that broken mirror saved him, AS soon
money due him over his hotel account
and disappeared. Last fall took trip
road-the Elkhorn. l stopped at
Douglas, the end of the road, and
naturally wandered around that evening
to inspect the hurdy- -gurdy features of
the half frame, half tent town. AS was
tablishment where there was crowd of
cowboys dancing and drinking with
dozen bedi1ened damsels, heard some
body remark: There's Hypo. He's out
of stuff The oddity of the exclama-
ton caused mei to look after slimly
built shabbily dressed fellow who was
piteousl.y beggpg man nan to give .hI him tie ten
say, give me dime; just want enough
| to get this filled, and he held up hypO-
| dermc syringe. The man gave him the
| com and he went by ME like a flash and
| into drug stoge on the corner l could
| see the clerk give him a powder and a
little glass whitewater in the bottom. He
| threw the powder in, stirred it, then
pushed up his coat sleeve and placed
| the needle under the skin. Then he
came out and back to the saloon. For
| the first, then got full view of his face.
| 1t was DeCourcy. But what change
| short tune had made in him. The NOR
phine habit had done its work. The next
| day saw evidences of his brush on the
store and saloon windows. But the skill
they were daubs."
day here IN Omaha?" an old Dakotian
asked as he shook hands with me in the
Millard hotel office. mo one else but
Denny Hannifin. He said he was gong
out to Colorado to settle up his brothers.
business. His brother died out at Aspen
been away from Bismarck in fifteen
years" remember the last time Denny
left Bismarck. 1t was in the dead of win.
ter. The territory's capital was Yankton,
| and the legislature was in session. There
wasn't any railroad in Bismarck and a
very irregular stage line. When the
snow was bad Bismarck just crawled into
Np h<V4
/ came. One of the papers from Yankton
that was printed about the time the legis-
lature convened. stated that among the
measures 10 be considered was joint
memorial to congress for division of the
territory. Now if there was anything
that Dennis Hanniiin, esq, las he wrote
his rame-he had been a justice of the
peace was "forninst'' it was division of
Dakota. He Immediately framed a pro-
man, woman and child in Bismarck.
Just then one of these North Dakota
blizzards set in. 1t kept up for a week.
The result was, no mail out or in. One
morning Denny said: ''I'll take that
protest to Yankton myself And he did.
He made about one hundred miles with a
team, and then had to abandon that
walked. He reached Yankton in time,
too. Perhaps the memorial would never
have been passed, anyway, but Denny
believes, and will believe to his dying
day, that his remonstrance defeated it.
Sheridans ride to Winchester has been
made immortalin prose and song, but
Hannitin's walk to Yankton had as
much pluck behind it, if it was not so
chiyalrous q deed.
Does DehnS still make medicine over
Dave Mullen's grave?" | asked my
friend Just the same; twice week, I"
he replied. 'Tfere is something patheti-
cally funny about that. Dave Mullen
kept a log dance house and sa-
loon in the early days of Bismarck.
One night some soldiers tried to force
their way i9, aud Dave went to the door
with revolver! One of the soldiers shot
him. Denny nlpurned long and bitterly;
for unto him Dave was as Damon was to
Pythias. For twenty years he has visited
the grave twice each week and COM
muned alone with the spirit of his de.
parted friend, as he. verify believes. For
twenty years, W. he has cherished un-
yielding antipx hy to two classes of hui
manity-regnH private soldiers and
"injuns," as nd calls them.
Denny, by Nhe way, was one of the
first discoveries of Stanley Huntley, the
lamented "Spoopendyke' of the
| Rrnnklvn Ea IuntIau xuant IN Tho